As the year draws to a close, I find myself moving away from the technical aspects of web design and being drawn inevitably back to the artistic side. I’m doing more painting commissions, more drawing, more pure design, and I’m loving it.

To help celebrate this new direction, I’ve opened a little shop on Etsy.com.

Come visit me at Etsy and see if something here appeals to you!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, and a prosperous and peaceful new year.

Perhaps you’re a new business, wanting to start everything out right with your office painted, your sign out front and your website up and ready to go. Perhaps you’ve got a website, and it’s out of date. Perhaps you’re established everywhere else, and think it’s time for a web presence. Here are some questions that can help make sure we’re on the same page before I give you an estimate:

1. What do you have now (give the address)? If the answer isn’t “nothing”, what do you like best about your current site? Least?

2. What’s the one thing you need your site to do most? If you have a current site, does it do that? How well?

3. What’s the one thing you want your site to do most? This is more about what you think is cool, eye-catching or just plain nifty, rather than necessity.

4. What are some sites you use regularly? What do you like best about them? What don’t you like?

5. What are the impressions you want someone to get when they first visit your site? Professional, fun, cool, welcoming, homey, natural, creative, something else?

6. Do you already have logos and a color scheme for your business? Do you want your website to reflect them? Do you want to update your whole look as part of the site update?

7. What hosting do you have? When does your domain registration expire? Do you have the passwords for both? If the answer is “nothing”, then what do you need and will you need help setting it up? What about search engine optimization? Shopping cart systems?

8. Do you know what you want your site to say? Will you provide the text, or will you need a copy writer?

9. Make a list of all the things you want out of your website. This is the free-form question where you can fill in all the blanks left by all the rest of the questions, so don’t be afraid to be random, thorough, and a little rambling.

10. And finally, what sort of budget do you have? You don’t have to disclose this if you don’t want to, but it will help me to be able to tell you what corners can be snipped and what can’t, and how well your wants and needs fit inside your budget.

Recently I’ve started reading a number of business blogs — the sort that make money from their expertise, and rely on a reputation for being a source of information about their industries. The kind that are, by and large, written by professionals.

So why am I seeing so much apostrophe abuse?

Apostrophes have two purposes in life: to show possession (the cat’s whiskers), or to show that there are missing letters in a contraction (can’t). Apostrophes never show pluralism.

Really, no, I promise.

The plural of CD is CDs. The plural of radio is radios. The plural of story is stories. The plural of cat is cats. The plural of sheep is sheep…. OK, I just threw that last one in there to confuse you.

There is one exception to the rule of possession, and that’s the it’s/its rule, which confuses everyone. I always have to ask myself: it is or it owns? If the answer is “it is” then you get an apostrophe, it’s. But when it owns something, then the apostrophe is left out. That’s actually one less correct apostrophe in the world!

I think a lot of the confusion comes from a few misconceptions:

1. Pluralizing acronyms does not require an apostrophe. The acronym already implies the missing letters, so all you need to do is tack an “s” on the end. If you find that too confusing, spell out the acronym (i.e. televisions, not teevees).
2. The abbreviation for the years between 1980 and 1989 is ’80s. The apostrophe is there to show the missing “19”, not to show pluralism. How do I know this? Because apostrophes never show pluralism.
3. Everyone knows there are sometimes special rules for pluralizing words that end in vowels (or are imported from other languages, like Latin), but they can’t always remember what those rules are. So datum becomes data. Dice is already plural, and the singular is die (cheerful, huh?). Company becomes companies. One potato, many potatoes. But you should notice one thing that all of these exceptions have in common: no apostrophes.

You might be wondering, so what? Well, look at this way: a professional writer whose blog is full of errors casts doubt on both their expertise in the craft of writing, but on their expertise the subjects about which they’re writing as well. It’s hard to sound authoritative when you can’t spell “potatoes” — just look at Dan Quayle.

If you still need help remembering, may I suggest Bob the Angry Flower’s Quick Guide to the Apostrophe, You Idiots?

The original reason I went into graphic design is because I had the skills, and the job was available. I’d taken some related classes in art school, I had some programming experience and a lot of computer savvy, and most importantly, I needed a job. As an artist, I have an eye for making things visually pleasing, balanced and attractive. As a former programmer, I learned how to think logically, and while html is a very simple language, it still helps.

The reason I’ve stuck with it is because I like to make things look good that might otherwise be plain, or just plain ugly. I think the world is a better place with the purple house in the middle of a street full of white, with gargoyles and decorative cornices on the otherwise boring banks, and beautiful earrings on power-suited businesswomen. I prefer to see, and create, a business card with a little bit of flare, a website whose form and function works for the eye as well as the mouse, or a book cover that has more than just the title and author name to offer.

Another thing that’s kept me in the web design business is my own internet addiction. I love the web, and I want everyone to be on it! I want all my favorite businesses and people to have sites where I can look up their info, so I can refer people to my dentist, do my banking online, or just help my friends find each other with just a few clicks of the mouse. A lot of small businesses think the web is out of reach, that it takes thousands of dollars that they don’t have, and I like to think one of my niches is helping small businesses find the web presence that works for them.

I enjoy the process of working to spec. I know that might sound strange, but it can be really enjoyable to have a client come to me with their fuzzy concepts, and give them back a sharp result that makes them say, “That’s just what I wanted,” — or my favorite, “That’s even better than I imagined.” When I can find a client that really clicks, the design experience becomes enjoyable, as well as profitable, for both of us.

Finally, I like the flexibility of freelancing. I like being able to plan vacations without asking my boss for the days off, to be able to wake up a little late, commute 10 feet and answer work emails before I’ve eaten breakfast. I think that the ability to work outside of a schedule — or in one, when I need to — can enhance the creative process. Not to mention giving me a chance to bake cookies in the middle of a slow Thursday afternoon, if that’s what I want to do.

So, why design? Because I like making attractive, functional things for other people. And this pays the bills better than freelance cookie baking.

1. Know what you need.
Just like a car, you can get a website that’ll do the minimum you need it to for cheap, or pay thousands and get a luxury ride. When thinking about getting a website for your business, first figure out what your needs are, and make sure you ask for all of them up front — you don’t want to hire someone, or sign a contract with a web host, only to find that they can’t provide the services you require. Conversations with your web designer can help you to clarify some of your needs, but you will also want to do some of your own research. A good designer should be able to help you get set up with a web host, register your domain names, and give you a clear idea of what you are getting and why.

2. Know the technology.
Do you want to pay for search engine optimization? Do you need secure browsing, or programming language support? Are you concerned about users on dial-up having slow access to your site? Do you have a market for cell phone users, and will they need their own page? You really liked a site you saw, but will the same technology fit your needs? What is bandwidth, anyway, and how’s it different from disk space? What’s the going rate for the services you need? In the end, the only person who has the final say on the who, what, where and how of your website is you — make sure you’re making informed choices.

3. Know what you like.
From colors to functionality, your site should be a collaboration between you and your designer. Surf the web, pay attention to the sites you use every day, and know what works for you, and what doesn’t. Then, pay attention to the advice you’re given, because not everyone surfs the same way. Sometimes, what’s a nice bit of ambiance to you is embarrassing noise to the person in a cubicle who wasn’t expecting music from your site. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want, but listen carefully if there’s a good explanation for why you can’t or shouldn’t have it — and if the answer starts as an unexplained ‘no’, then don’t be afraid to ask why.

4. Know what you don’t like.
For every site that works, there’s a dozen sites that don’t — they’re slow, confusing, hard to read, they “hide” what you need under marketing language, or they’re just plain ugly. Keep them in mind just as much as the ones you do like. Don’t be afraid to tell your designer you don’t like the direction things are going, to tell your web host they’re just too slow or unreliable, or to stand up for what you really want out of your site. Again, listen to advice, but in the end it’s your site — the only limitations are those imposed by the technology and your budget.

5. Know your limitations.
Can you only afford $10/month for hosting? Are you short on cash right now, but able to make payments? Can you handle fulfillment if you start an e-commerce site? Do you have someone to answer the phones if you put your toll-free number on your site? Small business is all about compromises between what we want, what we can afford, and what the technology can do; websites are no exception.

6. Ask questions. Know what you’re getting for your money.
Whether it’s your designer or your ISP, you should know what you’re getting for your buck.

If it’s a web host:

• Find out what your bandwidth and disk space allowances are.
• Find out what extras you get with your package. SSL, shopping cart software, cgi, asp and php are just some examples.
• Find out what extras you actually need, and if you’re paying extra for something you don’t use.

If it’s a designer:

• Make sure you know what’s covered in your estimate, and how binding it is.
• Are you paying by the hour, or for the whole job?
• What happens if you make a lot of changes? If there’s a lot of mistakes? If someone misses a deadline?
• Who’s going to write the copy, and is it an extra fee?
• Do certain things get hired out by the designer, such as programming or copy writing, and if so, is there an extra fee?

If it’s an ISP:

• Just how speedy is high speed? Do you have an option for faster, and are you already paying for it?
• Are you renting your equipment (modem, router) or do you own it?
• Check periodically to make sure you can’t change your plan for the better, either in terms of price, speed or functionality.

With any service, it’s up to you to make sure you’ve got what you need and aren’t confused about the services you’re paying for.

7. Know who you’re paying, and why.
Check your bills, and keep shopping around. Keep track of all the services that you’re paying for. Once every year or so, look around and see if you providers are still competitive — my web host increases my disk space and bandwidth allowance periodically to keep up with industry standards. Does yours? Are you paying for more than you need, or paying overage charges because your account doesn’t cover your needs now that your business has grown? A lot of the time we don’t even have to write a check to keep paying these bills, and it becomes easy to take them for granted.

8. Keep a list of the username, password, account number and other relevant information for all of your accounts.
Even if your designer or computer guy set up everything, make sure it’s in your name, and you have access to it. Things happen, and sometimes small businesses, like many designers or small web hosts, can disappear. Don’t end up in a position where you can’t access your own site, renew your own domains, or update your own account information.

9. Keep your account information updated.
Especially if you’re paying by credit card, be aware of which one and when it expires, or you may find yourself suddenly without a website. Make sure they have your current address, phone, fax and, most importantly, email address. Domain names can sometimes take 5-10 years to come up for renewal — make sure they know how to contact you when that happens, or you might find your domain is suddenly pointing to a site for mail-order brides.

10. Change with the times.
Web host not giving you what you need? Designer moving out of the area? Business changing faster than your site? Make sure you don’t get bogged down in what you’ve always done, and are willing to entertain new ideas — in the end, you’ll find yourself better off if you’re getting what your business needs now, rather than what it needed five years ago when you first set things up.

Confused about some of the terms? Check out UC Berkeley’s >Glossary of Internet & Web Jargon.

There’s any number of reasons to start a blog — bringing traffic to your site, keeping in touch with your friends and family, the simple desire to keep a journal without all those pesky blank books lying around the house. All of them are perfectly valid, but what you want to do with your blog will affect which service you use, what design template you choose, and how you present your blog to the world.

There’s LiveJournal, DeadJournal, and all its clones; Facebook, Orkut, Xanga and MySpace; Twitter, Blogger, TypePad, and a dozen others as well. They all offer different things to the discerning blogger, and most of them are constantly adding features and other improvements.

So, how do you decide?

For social networking, for instance, you’d want to go with a site like Facebook, LiveJournal, or one of its many clones. For someone who isn’t up to the challenge of long, introspective posts, or who wants to be able to keep a txt msg update of their daily lives, you might end up on Twitter. Someone wanting to present a more professional face, doing essays and articles, would probably use Blogger or TypePad. Kids might end up on Xanga. Anyone promoting a band would end up on MySpace, not to mention thousands of teenagers and twentysomethings just looking to hook up with friends.

Once you know what you want to use your blog for, it’s time to figure out what features you really need. For a lot of business bloggers, the main issues are ease of use, and ease of integration into their existing site design. But there are a lot of other features that make it a harder choice than it might seem — threaded comments, custom urls, posting clients and email or txt updates. In the end, only you can know what you need in a blog.

You never know, you may end up like many people out there in cyberspace, with more than one to suit your different purposes.